Facts and Stats

2006 Year in Review

Programs That Set National Standards

Teenagers treated for cancer at Children’s have some of the best survival rates in the nation. Five years after treatment, 15-to-19-year-olds treated here for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are 25% more likely to thrive than patients treated elsewhere.

Children’s received the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Medal of Honor for Organ Donation.

Children’s Dr. Ruth McDonald was elected to the board of directors of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a national organization that facilitates every organ transplant performed in the United States. McDonald has helped set national policies and standards for care in pediatric kidney transplantation.

The Washington State Booster Seat Coalition — of which Children’s is a founding member — received the Traffic Superstar Award from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission for helping increase the rate of booster seat use in the state from 22% to 49% in just four years.

More than 2,000 people packed Benaroya Hall in February 2006 to celebrate the public launch of The Campaign for Children’s, the most ambitious fundraising campaign in Children’s history. The campaign supports facilities expansion, uncompensated care and research and will culminate in 2008.

One of the evening’s highlights was Rosa Soto and daughter Susana Hernandez’s heartfelt thank-you to Children’s for treating patients regardless of a family’s ability to pay. “You never turned us away,” Soto recalled. “I will never be able to repay you for all the joy and happiness you brought back into our lives.”

Improving Access and Service

Children’s new, 168,000-square-foot outpatient facility opened in May. The Melinda French Gates Ambulatory Care Building brings together nearly all of Children’s specialty clinics and diagnostic services under one roof, enhances the quality of care Children’s provides and makes these services more accessible.

Children’s announced plans to open a 50,000-square-foot facility to the east of Lake Washington within the next three years to bring our outpatient clinical, diagnostic and day-surgery services closer to families in east King County.

An innovative Children’s project using computer-based patient information systems to prevent children with implanted devices from receiving magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures received the William O. Robertson, MD, Patient Safety Award from the Washington State Medical Association.

To improve patient safety, Children’s implemented an online order entry system for all ambulatory services. The electronic orders are always legible and the system identifies potential medication conflicts. Children’s also received the 2005 Award of Excellence in Healthcare Quality from Qualis Health. The award recognized staff who used Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) methodology to significantly improve how total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is ordered and administered.

Chief Operating Officer Pat Hagan was featured in Hospitals Today, the magazine of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions, for leading Children’s CPI efforts to improve patient safety, streamline work and reduce costs.

Preventing, Treating and Eliminating Pediatric Diseases

Taking a big step forward in its ambitious mission to eliminate all disease in children, Children’s created the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute and acquired two contiguous buildings in downtown Seattle that provide nearly 500,000 square feet of laboratory research space.

Children’s cancer specialist Dr. Debra Friedman is developing a LIVESTRONG Survivorship Center of Excellence at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that is supported by a five-year, $1.7 million grant from the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

A team of Children’s researchers, led by Dr. Margaret Rosenfeld, began a series of studies of rare genetic airway disorders. Children’s is one of four sites in the nation selected to be part of the effort, which is coordinated and funded by the National Institutes of Health’s Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network.

Children’s commissioned studies in an ongoing effort to understand barriers to quality of care, and identify ways to improve. Drs. Jim Taylor and Douglas Hawkins showed that families who dispense certain oral chemotherapy medicines at home need better education on administering them accurately. Another study, showing that children of Spanish-speaking families face an increased risk of medication errors, inaccurate diagnoses and other serious medical events due to miscommunication between the family and medical staff, was published by Dr. Adam Cohen during his fellowship at Children’s.

A study showing that mortality rates at Children’s did not increase during or after the implementation of a computerized order entry system was published by Drs. Mark Del Beccaro, Howard Jeffries and Matthew Eisenberg.

The Best People

CEO Dr. Thomas Hansen was named one of Seattle’s Innovators of 2006 by the Puget Sound Business Journal in its list of leaders notable for their creativity and striking advancements.

Dr. Richard Molteni retired after eight years as medical director. A champion of family-centered care, Molteni led Children’s efforts to improve quality of care, patient safety and access for patients and families. He was succeeded by Dr. David Fisher, who joined Children’s from Columbus Children’s Hospital, where he had been medical director since 1998.

Children’s was recognized as one of Seattle’s 25 Best Places to Work by Seattle Metropolitan magazine. Dr. Ronald Lemire, a developmental pediatrician and director of Children’s Inpatient Services, was honored in the September issue of Birth Defects Research: Clinical and Molecular Teratology for his contribution to advancements in the fields of developmental pediatrics, teratology, neurology, neurosurgery and epidemiology over a span of 40 years.

Fifty-four members of Children’s medical staff were featured in Seattle magazine’s annual “Best Doctors” list. Seattle Metropolitan featured 72 Children’s physicians in its “Best Doctors” issue.

Dr. Mark Smith, chief of Children’s Division of Adolescent Medicine, received the 2006 Health and Human Rights Leadership Award from Doctors of the World, a New York-based international health and human rights organization, for his volunteer service in Chiapas, Mexico.

Among the nation’s top pediatric specialists who joined Children’s in 2006 are:

Did You Know?

In January 1907, Anna Clise enlisted 23 of her friends to form an association to provide surgical care for children with orthopedic disorders, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. Each of the original members agreed to pay an annual membership fee of $10 and give an additional $10 to launch the treasury.

In the 1930s, student nurses provided the majority of nursing services for the hospital. They worked 12-hour shifts, six days a week, had time off for classes and were paid $6 a month.

Children’s Hospital Board of Trustees made its first foray into the advocacy arena in 1968, endorsing an initiative to add fluoride to Seattle’s water supply.

In 1971, Children’s provided $2.5 million in uncompensated care. In 2006, Children’s provided nearly $42 million in uncompensated care.

In 2007, Child magazine named Children’s among the nation’s top children’s hospitals for the fourth consecutive time. Children’s oncology program received special recognition as one of the best in the country.

Seattle Children’s provides healthcare without regard to race, color, religion (creed), sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin (ancestry) or disability. Financial assistance for medically necessary services is based on family income and hospital resources and is provided to children under age 21 whose primary residence is in Washington, Alaska, Montana or Idaho.